Review:
Bookworm and the Beast by Tru Taylor
“An Enemies-to-Lovers, Humorous, Slow-Burn Romance”
An enemies-to-lovers, forced-proximity, humorous, slow burn romance between a bookworm and an author that every book lover strives to emulate. This light take on the Beauty and the Beast fairytale classic is a beautiful one containing gorgeous descriptive writing, undeniable giggle-snort hilarious moments with hard-earned heartwarming and tender moments.
I really enjoyed Bookworm and the Beast, by Tru Taylor, as I’m a true fan of this kind of storyline. Someone rescuing someone else who deems him or her self as unapproachable or somehow less than stellar. These types of stories always are such heartwarming, addicting, and beautiful reads, that regardless of the characters, are always such a pleasure to read.
For obvious reasons, I loved this storyline and found myself living vicariously through Bonnie, as someone who reads and reviews books, for a living, and found it incredibly fascinating to follow along with not only her journey to that of a successful author, but also with popular author Jack, who is in this reader’s opinion, a cross between George R.R. Martin and somehow JL Armentrout as well. I wanted to be one of Jack’s adoring fans as his books were realistic and squeal worthy, having been from the paranormal category, which is coincidentally one of my most favorite kinds of reads.
That being said, however, as an avid reader, I was so desperate for what had occurred off page during the time jumps and found the pace to be a bit rushed towards the end. While the epilogue was a bit out-of-place, it was just as much of an interesting tease for the next book. I loved the storyline and most of the characters, but needed more character background and development as well as more development as a whole, as I didn’t quite see a complete connection to the actual classic.
Bookworm and the Beast is a good, low-angst, heartwarming story, with realistic and admirable characters and beautifully wonderful moments. I really liked it! 🙂
*star rating: 4.25 ‘I really liked this story’ stars*
PURCHASE LINKS
$3.99 for a limited time!
Free in Kindle Unlimited
EXCERPT
Jack towered over me—so much taller and larger than I’d realized when I’d seen him sitting down at the book signing.
He was, in a word, intimidating.
“Uh hi,” I blurted, sounding as foolish as I felt. Nervous, I unconsciously rubbed the tapered end of the sleek award.
One of Jack’s brows lifted, and his gaze dropped pointedly to my hands. I glanced down at the distinctly phallic trophy I’d been caressing then turned again and quickly set the award back in its place.
Spinning back to face Jack, I attempted to salvage the awkward caught-in-the-act moment by sticking my hand out.
And babbling.
“It’s so nice to meet you. I’ve really been looking forward to this, and I hope you have, too, because I think this is really going to be great. Our readers will be really excited to hear what you have to say about the new book—I mean, no pressure to say anything in particular. I know how you feel about spoilers, and I’d never ask you to divulge any. Oh, I’m Bonnie Hamelin. But I guess you already know that.”
The good news was I’d managed actual speech this time. His arrival had been so sudden I hadn’t had time to work up quite as many nerves as the first time I’d seen him. The bad news was his answering expression could have incinerated me on the spot.
He didn’t take my offered hand but continue to scowl at me. “Yes, I know who you are, Ms. Hamelin,” he sneered. “You’re the interviewer. Which I believe means your purpose here is to interview me, not to invade my home and… fondle my private possessions.”
My nerves, combined with his use of the words “fondle” and “private” together made me giggle, which then made me blush in mortification.
Oh, good Lord. This wasn’t starting well. I was just grateful there was no chai latte nearby this time. The thought caused my gaze to drop involuntarily to the front of Jack’s pants.
I did hope he’d fully recovered from the hot-tea incident. It would be such a shame if such an obviously virile man were permanently—
Jack cleared his throat loudly.
Yanking my gaze away from his crotch and withdrawing my hand, I twisted it with the fingers of my other hand and forced a smile I hoped was both apologetic and charming.
“I’m so sorry about that. I’ve just never seen one in person. Or one so big. And you have so many. Awards. Not possessions. I mean, you do have some nice possessions. I was just talking about… the… award.”
Jack just kept staring, studying me as if I were a fascinating yet slightly repulsive bug. A dung beetle, perhaps.
Mrs. Potts, whose existence I’d completely forgotten in the last minute and a half, spoke up. “Jack?”
He shot her a heated side-glance then looked at me again. His scowl moderated into a more neutral expression. “Well?”
“Oh—it’s… very beautiful. And heavy.”
The scowl returned. “I wasn’t fishing for compliments about my award. Are you by any chance ready to begin the interview?”
“The interview. Yes. Absolutely. I’m ready. Let’s do it.”
He shook his head as if giving up on something. “Fine. Let’s get this over with.”
COMING SOON
Releasing August 25
$3.99 for a limited time!
AUTHOR BIO
Award-winning romance author Tru Taylor writes romantic comedies to make you swoon, smile, and snort with laughter.
She runs on Coke Zero and dark chocolate, lives for lunches with her girlfriends, and drives to the town beach several times a week to watch the sun set over the water.
She loves LOVE and will attempt to turn any show or movie she’s watching into a romance whether it is one or not. Star Wars? A romance. Lord of the Rings? Clearly a romance. The Expendables? Okay, well not even Tru can redeem that one.
When she’s not writing, Tru enjoys watching movies and reading books with happy endings, spending time with her husband and two kids, and sneaking Hershey’s Kisses from the top shelf of the freezer throughout the day. (Top shelf because… two kids. Enough said.)
Tru is the author of the Eastport Bay small town rom com series and loves living in a small New England town where she’s surrounded every day by the beautiful coastal setting you see brought to life in her books.
AUTHOR LINKS
